Love is a Serious Mental Disease
by Horan Around
Summary: Set in Order of the Phoenix. Harry/OC, Draco/OC. Rated M for Later chapters. Sorry I suck at summaries! Full Summary inside. I promise, its really good.
1. Chapter 1

Alright, here is my second story, a Harry Potter fanfic.

Summary: Alanna and Chassidy Atwood are twins, very close yet complete opposites in character. At a very young age, they had been abandoned by their father, and their mother had insisted he did it for more important reasons, causing them to hate him. Chassidy found solace in pranking, while Alanna learned to play quidditch. Soon after they start Wizarding School, their mother is killed in a mysterious fire. They are forced to live with their Aunt Lorrie, a squib, who treats them as maids. When Chassidy pulls Alanna into a prank that caused them both to be expelled, they are moved to a new school in England. And as soon as Alanna realizes their father has found her, she does everything in her power to keep it a secret. Adventure, mystery, and romance ensue. Set in Order of the Phoenix. Harry/OC, Draco/OC. Rated M for Later chapters. (Also, as soon as they could, they both died their hair different colors, since it was their fathers color, black, and very voluminous [not in a weird way, in the model runway way] Alanna going blonde and Chassidy going dark brown. Both their eye colors are a light gray, like their fathers.)

ENJOY!

-Alanna's POV-

"Sid, pass me my brush." I called out to my twin over the music from her laptop. She did so without so much as taking her eyes of the screen.

Knowing her, she was probably researching where she could buy Bubotuber, a plant that when used undiluted causes relentless boils to break out on skin. She was a constant pranker, which was why we got kicked out of our old school, St. Millingtons. Instead of keeping us in America, Aunt Lorrie moved us across the world, to England, so we could be placed in one of the best Wizardry Schools in the world, Hogwarts.

I had known about magic all my life, mostly from my mother. She had been a wizard, raising us alone. She told us about magic, but never actually used it, even though she was a pure blood. When weird things started happening around the house, like clothes flying off hangers, or Chassidy's favorite meal catching on fire, my mother became overjoyed I had received "the Gift", as she called it. She became even more overjoyed when Chassidy's magic came in a few days after mine.

Just months after we started school, our home was set on fire, and, according to ministry officials and police, thus killing our mother. We hadn't believed them at first, seeing as how there had been no body, or any sort of evidence she was dead, but we had no choice but to believe them. Our Mom had told us at an early age to cover up our own tracks, to keep our Father from finding us. Since she had ingrained it in our heads since as long as I could remember, I gradually grew to hate him, for leaving us soon after me and Chassidy were born. Mom said he stayed untill we were nearly one, and then only occasionally visited, and only for short periods of time. Chassidy had asked several times about how they met and why he wasn't there, but Mom only responded by telling us "Daddy couldn't stay, he had more important things to go to." Once, when I was ten, I received a letter by owl, short, and difficult to read, but still a letter. I read through it several times, just describing how he med us, and how he would see us as soon as he could, but that never happened. The only picture I had ever seen of him had been lost in the fire. Me and Chassidy had attempted to look for it, but there had been too much rubble, and we were scared of coming across a body.

After the school year ended and we were forced upon our Aunt. Taking us in had been a _charitable _act done by her, and she forced us to clean her home every day, to keep it spotless.

"Girls! If your light isn't out in 20 seconds I **WILL **take those sticks away from you! I don't care that your leaving tomorrow!" _Speak of the devil. _Even though Aunt Lorrie was also a pure blood, and had attended St. Millingtons when she was our age, she never used magic either. We suspected she was a squib. Chassidy yelled an okay back down to her, lifting a shoe from the edge of her bed and launching it at the light switch. It dropped with a characteristic _thump, _leaving me to launch my hairbrush at the light, hitting its goal and switching the lights off. The only light in the room was now Chassidy's lap top and my own bedside lamp. Mom had always told me I had gotten my father's athletic abilities, and Chassidy had gotten his sense of humor. The first time Sid heard her say it, she frowned straight for a week, before resuming where she had left off on a prank.

"Night Sid." I told her while pulling my pants off and trading them for shorts. She nodded and grabbed her headphones from the nightstand between us. "You know they don't allow muggle artifacts in Hogwarts?"

She smirked at me while plugging them in. "Stupid rule if you ask me. I'm having one last night with my baby before I leave it behind." I laughed quietly and shook my head.

"Well when you go to sleep, don't forget to call Galileo and Andromeda in. You know they won't come in tomorrow morning." I told her, referring to our owls. Mine was Galileo, a pure black owl, and hers was Andromeda, a pure white owl. She nodded while untangling her headphones.

I sighed and reached over to turn my lamp off before rolling under my covers.

* At 9 and 3/4 *

"A bit quick, don't you think?" Chassidy was referring to Aunt Lorrie, who had pointed out the wall for us to walk through, and then abruptly left, not even saying goodbye or giving a hug. We had waited to follow another pair of witches who showed us how to go through.

After a few minutes of attempting to push through the crowd, we gave up and stopped to rest. Our trunks had our owls strapped on top of them, causing them to chitter loudly at being locked up.

"Very, She's probably going to go have a party now that we are gone." I stopped looking around to pet a dog that had nuzzled against my bare leg. "Why, hello there, whats your name?" The dog was black, huge, somewhat resembling a Grim, and I was pretty sure an animagus. It seemed really, really, familiar. But I had never met a black dog this big before. I was positive.

I heard people start shoving through the crowd, and a boy with messy black hair and wire framed glasses came into view. "Is he your friend?" I asked the dog. He nodded, and now I was positive it was an animagus. "Well then go to him!" I laughed, and the dog turned and began trotting to the boy with black hair. I smiled at him, and he smiled back before leaning down to scold the dog.

"Well that was interesting. Animagus?" Chassidy asked. I nodded, and she shrugged at me, while I watched the dog turn to look at me once more. I wanted to ask her if it had looked familiar, but before I could, she interrupted my train of thought. "Seven minutes, lets go." She lifted her trunk, and I copied her, heaving my duffel bag on my shoulder. "So how much do you think we are going to miss America by the end of this train ride?"

"Too much." I told her sadly while we began weaving through the crowds. In America, students had met up at a spot, like Atlanta, and then headed by plane to wherever the school was. It was constantly changing to avoid being found.

Once we found an empty carriage near the end of the train, we sat down with a sigh of relief.

"I think I'm going to owl Macy as soon as we reach the school." Chassidy told me while picking dirt from her nails.

"After we talk with those two professors. And then eat dinner. I'm already starving." I leaned against the window seat just as the door slid open. I saw a head of pure blonde hair, along with a pointy chin and nose, and sunken in face. _He looks like a jerk. _I thought to myself. He started to close the door, but when he saw Chassidy, he leaned against the frame and looked her over.

"Your always -" She looked up at the guy, obviously checking him out. I gagged to myself and stared at the window, scanning for the dog again. After I coughed a few times, he stuck his hand out to her. There was something about him I disliked immediately.

"My name is Draco Malfoy. How come I haven't seen you around here before?" She shrugged and smiled at him, looking from under her lashes.

I sighed in annoyance and answered for her. "I'm Alanna, she's Chassidy. We're transfers from America." He glanced over at me, looking me over with an annoyed look in his eyes. I smirked at him and crossed my arms.

"Well, Chassidy, which house are you going to be in?" He seemed to focus all of his attention solely on her, so I turned to the window again, to continue my search. I heard their search as if I was far away.

_"I'm supposed to be in Slytherin."_

_ "Really? I'm in Slytherin. How about I go introduce you to some of my friends?"_

_ "Yeah, that sounds fun." _And she got up and left without even a goodbye. I mean,it's not that I actually cared, I mean, I was proud she was coming out of her shell. But she could have said bye. Who knows how long it will be till we see each other again? Other than our meeting with the professors later.

"Excuse me, could I sit here? It seems that every other carriage is filled up." I looked up to see a tiny blonde girl with practically white hair down to her waist.

"Yeah, sure. I'm Alanna, by the way."

"Luna Lovegood. Are you a transfer?" She asked while pushing her trunk into the luggage rack. I was surprised such a tiny girl could lift so much weight.

"I'm transferring here from a school in America. And I'm in the Gryffindor house, just so you know." I informed her while she sat down with a magazine, upside down.

"Oh, its a very nice house, you will enjoy it." At the last word, she snapped the magazine up to her nose, thus ending any chance of conversation. I sighed and reached a hand to twirl a piece, still looking for the dog. _Wwas it that I had felt like I'd known the dog before? Why was I even obsessing over it? There was just something about it that made me ant to. . I don't even know. Like my heart recognized it before my brain did._

"Hi, Luna, is it okay if we take these seats?" I looked up a few moments later to see a girl with fiery red hair and bright green eyes, pulling a large trunk in. Behind her was a slightly chunky boy with brown hair, holding a frog in one hand and a trunk in the other. Last to come in was the tall boy, the one that had been friends with the Animagus. I smiled at him and he smiled back, obviously recognizing me. He kept his eyes on me, even when Luna was staring at him while nodding.

"Thanks." The red head said while sitting beside Luna. The two boys stowed their trunks in the luggage rack above me, and I vaguely realized the black haired boy had a white owl, who immediately started chittering with Galileo.

_I really need to get his name, _I thought to myself while the black haired boy sat next to me, and the brown haired one sat across from him. Luna was staring at the black haired boy without blinking, which was kind of creepy.

"I'm Ginny Weasley." The red head said while sticking her hand out.

"Alanna Atwood. Fresh from America." I told them while shaking her hand.

"Really? I didn't know America had Wizardry schools. Do you know which house you are in?" She asked with what sounded like genuine interest in her voice.

"Gryffindor." I shrugged. As soon as the word was out of my mouth they all began cheering with _yeah!_'s and _alright!_'s. "I take it all of you are in Gryffindor." I assumed with a smile.

"All except Luna. I'm Neville Longbottom." The brown haired boy said with a slightly high voice that cracked, but I could tell from the way he held himself he had a lot of potential. I turned to the black haired boy expectantly.

"You don't know me?" I shook my head no. "Oh!" He had a surprised look on my face, and I frowned, that was really pompous. "I'm-" He started, before getting cut off by Luna. Up close, his eyes were really green. They reminded me of the grass at my house in America, before it was singed to the ground.

"Your Harry Potter." I cocked my head at her. Again, really rude. Why was everyone here cutting everyone else off? And why was I expected to know this kid?


	2. You'll Never Know How Much I love You

ITS THURSDAY! yay for update-day! I really do like Thursdays. And I hope you'll enjoy this chapter. I promise, just a few more chapters before some Unresolved Sexual Tension (UST) between Harry and Alanna! Any questions, comments, or reviews, just review! It completely makes my day when I open my inbox and see so many reviews in there. And just adding me as a favorite author. I promise, it doesn't take that much work. And every time I hit a hundred or fifty mark I'll update sooner!

* * *

><p><em>"You don't know me?" I shook my head no. "Oh!" He had a surprised look on my face, and I frowned, that was really pompous. "I'm-" He started, before getting cut off by Luna. Up close, his eyes were really green. They reminded me of the grass at my house in America, before it was singed to the ground.<em>

_ "Your Harry Potter." I cocked my head at her. Again, really rude. Why was everyone here cutting everyone else off? And why was I expected to know this kid?_

"Err. Yeah. I am." _Harry _said awkwardly. Neville chuckled, and Luna fixed her eyes on him.

"Luna's in my year, but in Ravenclaw." Ginny told us quickly. I nodded my head and picked up my hair twirling again.

"_Wit beyond measure is Man's greatest treasure." _Luna said in a sing song voice. I looked at Ginny with a freaked out face and almost died laughing.

-Chassidy's POV-

I felt kid of bad for leaving Alanna behind, but I knew she would make friends fast. Plus, Draco was **SMOKING HOT. **He had taken me to meet his Slytherin friends, leaving after a few minutes for some "prefect" thing.

"So Chassidy, where are you from?" Blaise asked me.

"America. I got expelled from my last school." I told them simply.

"That explains your accent. What'd you do?" A girl named Chamy asked me. So far, she was my closest friend. She had straight black hair and pale skin, but definitely could be a model.

"I covered half the school in Stinksap and burned the other half." The group laughed, and Blaise hit my arm lightly.

"You are one devilish angel." He added with another laugh.

"Yeah, she has the looks of an angel, but the mind of a devil!" Goyle cawed with more laughter, and we looked down at him on the floor with Crabbe.

"Soo. . .How was yall's summer?" I asked to break the tension.

"Yall!" Chamy sniggered. I kicked her lightly with the toe of my converse, and she caught it as the door slid open.

"Honestly, this prefect business is sooo tiring." Draco complained while stepping in. Pansy followed with a small pout on her face.

"Maybe you should work out more." I joked. I saw him grin while avoiding looking at me. He stepped over Crabbe and Goyle, standing in front of me while facing Chamy, who was across from me.

"Did you hear anything?" He asked her while sitting down on me. I immediately squealed and tried pushing him off away, unsuccessfully. I heard Chamy laughing, along with Blaise.

Draco had started wiggling around in my lap, causing me to squirm my way out from under him, ending with my head resting against the window, my feet in Blaise's lap, and Draco squishing my stomach against the back of the seat. Just when I thought our little game was done, and I would be stuck like that until the train stopped, Draco laid on top of me. I laughed and mostly stayed in the same position, and he turned his head to grin at me. I smiled back, his icy blue eyes enticing me.

"Aw. You two make the cutest couple." Chamy grinned at us and I blushed while everyone called out their approval.

"Yall think so?" I asked while looking at Draco.

"I think we do." Draco told me while giving me a kiss on my cheek.

The whole carriage erupted in "awww"'s as I blushed deeply. This school was definitely turning out to be a lot funner than the last.

-Alanna's POV-

I had tried to warn Neville about Mimbulus Mimbletonus' defense mechanism, seeing as how that was half the reason I was expelled from my old school, but he hadn't listened, instead coating us in Stinksap.

"Harry?" I looked up with a smile on my face to see an oriental girl glaring at me.

"Oh, uh, hey Cho." He answered. She glanced at him before turning to glare at me.

"I'm Cho. Nice to meet you. And I just wanted to drop in to say hello. . "

"Alanna." I answered. I stuck my hand out as a joke, considering it was covered in stinksap.

"Uh, bye Harry." She said before turning and slamming the door shut. I turned to Ginny, who was biting her lip to keep from laughing, but as soon as we made eye contact, we both let out loud laughs. After a few moments of laughing, I leaned back up and wiped my forehead. When I turned to look at Harry, I saw he was glaring at me.

"What?" I asked while Ginny used "scourgify" to clean us up.

"Why did you just do that?" He asked.

"Because it was funny?" I asked with a confused smile on my face.

"No it wasn't! It was revolting! She thinks I'm a freak now!" He practically yelled at me.

"Oh chill, she'll get over it." I told him with a roll of my eyes.

At that moment, the doors slid open to show another girl and boy. They both came in without asking and sat on the floor.

"Hey Harry, Neville, Luna, Ginny." The girl commented. She turned to me and stuck her hand out."I'm Hermione. And this is Ron, Ginny's brother." I was stilled riled up about what Harry had said.

"Careful, you might get revolted." I shot a glare at Harry and shook her hand. "I'm Alanna. Transfer from America."

"I heard. . ." She looked at Harry with a questioning look in her face, but nevertheless smiled at me.

"I'm sorry, really. So are you in Gryffindor too?" I asked her. She smiled and nodded, crossing her arms over her legs. And yet again, the door slid open.

A tall pair of twins were standing there, smiling in at me.

"Heard there was a transfer in here-" One of them started.

"And wanted to personally introduce ourselves." The other said, smiling at me.

"That would be me." I smiled and raised my hand up a bit.

"Fred."

"George." They both introduced themselves, and I smiled up at them.

"Those two are my brothers." Ron said while pushing them out the door and sliding it shut behind them.

"Ginny's too?" I asked while looking at her. She nodded sadly and I laughed lightly. "Any others I should know about?" I joked with a smile. Ginny and Ron exchanged a look, then both looked at me, shaking their heads. I smiled and looked out the window, watching the ever changing sky while the group talked about Draco, or Malfoy, as they called him.

I'm pretty sure I fell asleep, because when I woke up, lamps were lit above our heads.

"Put your robes on, were almost to the school." Harry told me while taking his hand off my shoulder. I blinked a few times to wake up fully before standing up and stretching. I reached into my duffel bag, which had fallen on the floor sometime during the trip, and pulled it out. I slid it over my shoulders and rubbed the sleep out of my eyes before slumping back into my seat.

I felt the train come to a slow stop, and stood up to make my way to the front.

"Do you know where to go?" Harry asked while getting his birds cage.

I nodded and blinked again sleepily. "I'm supposed to meet the Gryffindor head teacher thing up at the front of the train." I told him, my mind still a bit foggy from sleep.

He bit his lip and looked me over before nodding. "I'll save you a seat in the Great Hall." I smiled and nodded at him before heading out into the already crowded hall, trying to shove my way past everyone.

After what felt like forever, I made it to the front to see an old lady in green robes. She made and "ah there you are face" and grabbed onto my shoulder.

"Come along now. I'm Professor McGonagall. I'll be showing you around the castle briefly." I nodded at her as she led me off the train and towards an open carriage drawn by some sort of skinless horse. I looked at it kind of freaked out, then looked up at Chassidy, who was already sitting in a velvet seat. Across from her was a man who introduced himself as Professor Snape, the head teacher or Slytherin. The horses led us up a trail leading to a giant castle, which was obviously Hogwarts.

They stopped us in front of the castle and made us walk up several steps, leading us at last to a classroom, where me and Chassidy sat side by side, the teachers leaning casually against the teachers desk.

"Now, girls, you know which house you are in?" McGonagall asked. We both nodded.

"Good. Now here are some things you need to know." She then relayed to us a long list of things we should obey, such as dress code and general conduct. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Chassidy slip out her wand and begin twirling it, a sure sign she was bored. _God, she's already changed so much. There was like a slight smirk on her face, and a little more bounce in her step, and a light blush across her cheeks. Like she was constantly filled with adrenaline._ "And just because you are new here, does not mean you will receive special treatment." She finished. Snape even seemed a bit bored, as he led us out of the room and into a large hallway, in front of large double doors.

"Stay here until the doors open, Then go straight to your seat." He drawled out. He then left us to go to a door off to the side.

I turned to Chassidy, who faced me and began fussing over me."Sid, I don't think you should be friends with that Malfoy boy." She stopped smoothing my hair and looked me straight in the eyes.

"I think you should mind your own business." She told me coldly while turning to face the big doors.

"I'm just saying, he seems like a bad influence. And you know how the last bad influence you dated ended up." I stroked the dark brown hair from her forehead.

"I'M just saying, my friends are my friends, and you should mind your own business. I'm a big girl, Lani, I don't need your help." I sighed and but my lip. She was even getting thick headed. I crossed me arms and let out a breath, trying to keep from yelling at her.

"Whatever. You remember what Mom said? The first time we went to school?" I don't know why I remembered this memory, but it popped into my head and I smiled at Chassidy, who grinned back at me.

"_Shows on girls, give it your all and give it your best. This is your big debut_." I laughed and hugged Chassidy, sometimes our twin telepathy worked perfectly in tune with each other.

"Ready for our big debut?" I asked while holding my left hand up.

"Beyond ready. For Mom." She answered while grabbing my hand and squeezing it. I felt tears coming out of my eyes and I smiled, wiping under them quickly and looking at the ceiling. I saw the doors start to open and smiled at Chassidy one last time. She smiled back and then faced forward, putting on her game face. I copied her, readying myself.

At the same moment, we both started walking into the room, attracting wolf calls and whistles. I resisted the urge to smile, instead squeezing her hand as we seperated to go to our opposite tables, on the opposite sides of the room. As soon as I sat down, one of the teachers called "Tuck in!" And food appeared before us.

Loads of food appeared on the table, including several huge bodies of meat, mashed potatoes, and various other things I could find at a Thanksgiving Feast.

After I loaded my plate up with turkey, bread, mashed potatoes, gravy, and vegetables, I looked up to see everyone staring at me.

"What?" I asked with half a roll in my mouth.

"Who was that _babe _you were just walking with?" Ron asked. I gagged at the word _babe_, and saw him receive a kick under the table from Hermione.

"My twin?"

"And she's in Slytherin?" Hermione asked. I nodded and took a gulp of pumpkin juice. "Incredible." She said in a sarcastic voice. I rolled my eyes and looked at a ghost over the rim of my cup.

"Oh! I'm Alanna!" I offered. He smiled politely at me.

"Nearly Headless Nick, darling." I smiled back and checked out his neck. _Well, there goes my appetite._

"Who was your twin?" Harry asked from beside me.

"Her name's Chassidy. Chassidy Marie and Alanna Samora." Ron chuckled at my middle name and I kicked him under the table, hard.

"How come you have blond hair and she has brown?" _Because we hated having our father's hair, especially since we don't know who he is._

Instead, I lied. I shrugged and looked down at my plate, stabbing some vegetables with my fork. "It makes us easier to tell apart." I shoved the vegetables into my mouth, ending the conversation.

"What were you saying before the Sorting, Nick?" Hermione asked to break the tense silence.

"Oh yes." Nick turned away from me to face Hermione. "Yes, I have heard the hat give several warnings before, always at times when it detects periods of great danger for the school. And, always, of course, its advice is the same: Stand together, be strong from within."

"Ow kunnit nofe skusin in danger ifzat?" Ron asked, his mouth full of food.

"I beg your pardon?" Nick asked politely, while Hermione and I exchanged disgusted looks.

Ron took a huge swallow before repeating his question. "How can it know if the school is in danger if its a hat?"

"I have no idea. Of course, it lives in Dumbledore's office, so I daresay it picks things up there."

"Whos Dumbledore?" I asked. All of them stared at me with shock written on their faces.

"You don't know who he is?" I shook my head at Harry's question. He pointed across the room at the teacher's table, to a man with a reaallyyy long white beard and dark purple robes. "That's Dumbledore." And he proceeded to tell me the other teachers names, stopping at some old lady that was dressed in pink.

"That's Umbridge." I answered for him.

"You know Umbridge but you don't know Dumbledore?" Hermione asked, appalled.

"Yeah. She was the one who told us our mothers h-" I caught myself at the last second. I wanted to restart here, not have old fears haunt me. Umbridge had been the one who told us our house had burned down, killing our mother. "Uh. Our mothers help had really assisted the Ministry." I covered for myself. My face was pale, but I was pretty sure they believed me.

"What kind of work did your mother do? Maybe my dad knows her. He works at the Ministry." Ron asked.

"A- Uh. She. .She just did. . you know.. paperwork. . . " I trailed off. It was obvious I was lying. I was ready to give up. I had never been one for lying. That was most of the reason I wasn't in Slytherin. But the others either were terrible at detecting lies, or they chose to ignore it.

My appetite was ruined. I looked around the Great Hall, looking for a distraction. Several of the students were staring at Harry and I, mostly pointing at Harry, but still acknowledging me. _Weird school. _I scanned across the Hall while Hermione and Ron began to get into a hushed argument, but I didn't much feel like interrupting them. Especially since Harry didn't. I finally caught sight of Malfoy, and Chassidy, their backs to me. Malfoy had his arm around Chassidy, and she was leaning into him. I saw him kiss her cheek, and she turned to smile at him. I looked away for a moment disgusted, before looking back at them. The table started laughing, and I wanted to burn a hole into them.

I hadn't realized I'd stared at them for so long until people around me began standing up. I waved bye to Hermione and Ron, who were going to lead some first years to the room. Luckily, my short tour of the school had included stopping at the Portrait of the Fat Lady.

Just as I had started making my way through the crowd, already having lost Harry, I felt tw o arms yank me backwards. I looked up to see Fred and George smiling down at me.

"Good God, you two scared me." They high fived each other behind my back, while I looped my arms through theirs.

"We were wondering-"

"If you could do us a little favor." I looked carefully at both of them.

"What is it?" They weaved easily through the crowd with me hanging on for dear life.

"Well, I have a date with Angelina-"

"A girl in our year."

"but old Freddie here-"

"My date is sick. Would you come with me?" I looked to my right, at Fred, smiling.

"Of course I would! When and where?"

"We'll meet you at eleven in the commons. Wear something warm. We'll be flying." I smiled widely.

"Really? So you two are good fliers? Are you on a quidditch team?" I smiled widely. I LOVED quidditch. It was practically my whole life, until I got expelled. Then Aunt Lorrie burned my broom. I used to be an excellent Chaser.

"Of course. We are the beaters for Gryffindor. Mighty good, if we do say so ourselves." They smirked down at me and I smiled again.

"Great! When are tryouts?" I tugged them impatiently, I couldn't wait to tell Chassidy about this! She was never a flier, but I knew she would be happy for me.

"There are no tryouts. There's only an open spot for Keeper." I frowned and looked down at the floor.

"But I could talk to Angelina, I'm sure she might allow you to try out!" Fred consoled me while we reached the portrait. George said the password while I smiled huge at him and hugged as high as I could reach, which was their necks.

"Thank you thank you thank you!" I shouted at them as I practically ran through the commons and up to my room, collapsing on my bed before smiling.

you'll never know how much I love you, and I'll never know why 


	3. Life is a Song

_"But I could talk to Angelina, I'm sure she might allow you to try out!" Fred consoled me while we reached the portrait. George said the password while I smiled huge at him and hugged as high as I could reach, which was their necks._

_"Thank you thank you thank you!" I shouted at them as I practically ran through the commons and up to my room, collapsing on my bed before smiling._

After nearly an hour of relaxing, and two other Gryffindor fifth years come in to introduce themselves, I got up to write a letter to my best friend, Millie.

Millie,

It is beyond cold up here in England. Just last night, I was wearing three jackets on top of a heated blanket. I miss the warm sun in Georgia! I miss everyone so much! Give everyone a hug and kiss for me.

I cant say I hate it here, but I definitely like St. Millingtons more. Everyone here is nice, but noone wants to be my actual friend, like how me and you were. And I can't talk to Chassidy, she is all the way on the other side of the school. Which, by the way, is a freakin' castle! I mean with turrets and a dungeon and everything! But I can't go and see her whenever I want. Slytherin (Chassidy's house, remember?) hates Gryffindor, and I have yet to find out why. But the worst part of this school is how its changing Chassidy. Just two hours ago, I tried to talk to her about her friends (bunch of scum bags) and she completely blew me off. I swear, she has already gotten way in over head with that crowd. I hate it. I can't wait to come home for Christmas.

Before I forget. There's a guy. Harry. He is sooo cute. But he acts like he wants no part of me. And everyone here knows his name. It's so weird. I mean, there were the people that everyone knew back at Millingtons, but this is different, in a weird way. Like he's a celebrity. He has the most GORGEOUS green eyes! And this shaggy black hair I could totally run my hands through all day.

Now write me back fast! You have 3 days before I start to get anxious! Be sure to tell me everything thats going on. And include a picture! As soon as I get my camera back from Chassidy, I'll send some along.

Love,

Alanna Samora Atwood 3

I sighed and put down my quill, blowing the parchment. Since Hogwarts has that "no muggle artifacts" rule, I had to write it out instead of just emailing her. I stretched my wrists and looked at my watch, and realized I only had about an hour left before I had to be in the commons. I chose what I was going to wear, which was a flowery tank top, and some light wash jeans, before heading into the attached wash room.

When I got out, everyone was curled up in bed, either writing letters, finishing last minute homework, or reading.

Hermione looked up from her reading, but everyone else remained unchanged.

I was in my clothes for the "date" with Fred, but my shoes, which were some brown riding boots, and my white pea coat were sitting on my bed.

Hermione pulled her legs to her chest and patted the space in front of her, and I felt like a little kid who was about to get lectured, but went over to her anyways.

"So, how do you like Hogwarts?" I shrugged at her and half smiled at her.

"I mostly miss home." She half smiled back and nodded.

"I was the same way, but don't worry. It grows on you."

"I hope so. . . Hey, when we were in the Great Hall, why were so many people looking at Harry?" Hermione looked at me in shock.

"Don't you read the Daily Prophet?" I furrowed my brows and shook my head. _I guess thats their newspaper._

"My Aunt doesn't want to be a part of the Wizard World, and I haven't gotten around to ordering it yet." My eyes widened as I realized I said my aunt, but Hermione didn't notice.

"Well, you should ask Harry for yourself, he'd be better at explaining it." I shrugged and looked down at the floor.

"So, you and Ron?" I waggled my eyebrows at her and she laughed while hitting my shoulder.

"There is nothing going on between me and him!" I could see the smile pulling on her mouth, and it made it VERY difficult to believe her.

"Nothing my ass!" I laughed while checking my watch, it was 10:56. "Oh shoot, gotta go. Wanna have breakfast tomorrow?"

"Sure. But Alanna, you know as prefect I can't let you leave." I pouted my lips at her.

"Then how about as my closest friend at Hogwarts you let me? With your eyes closed? Please?" I cuddled up to her, my face on her shoulder. She sighed and rolled her eyes before covering them with her hands.

"10, 9, 8-" She began.

"Thank you!" I squealed while kissing her cheek quickly. I ran and attempted to jump over my bed and grab my boots and jacket, but ended up slipping on the covers and landing on my side. I jumped up as the two other girls in the room laughed, grabbing my things and slipping my wand in my back pocket. "Thank you Herms!" I shouted while running out the door, slamming it behind me.

At the top of the stairs, I slid one of my boots on while jumping on one foot down the stairs, trying to yank it on. Halfway down the stairs, I switched and tried yanking the other one on, ending unsuccessfully with a trip on the last step.

I crashed into someone, knocking both of us over, me landing on top.

Thinking it was Fred or George, I propped my elbows on their chest and settled my chin into my palms.

"Fancy seeing you here!" I laughed. I blushed as soon as I realized it was Harry.

"Yes, I was actually heading towards my bed." His eyes lit up when he recognized me, and I smiled down at him, feeling his hands resting on my hips.

"I'm sorry, sometimes my tripping abilities get the best of me." He laughed, making me smile wider. Up THIS close, his eyes were an even prettier shade of green, like when the grass at my old house went uncut for a while. Before it was burned down. Then I realized I had knocked his glasses off. I looked around and saw them to my right, so I stretched to reach them. "Sorry, here you go." I slid them onto his nose and smiled down at him again. My blonde bangs were brushing against his eyebrows, and he pushed them behind my ear.

"Oi! You two having a nice time down there?" I heard one of the twins yell.

I laughed and rolled off Harry, seeing them perched on the stairway to the boys commons. I slipped my wand from my pocket and into my boot, my favorite keeping place for it.

"I fell down the stairs and used Harry for a crash landing." I told them while Harry pulled me up easily. "Sorry again." I muttered to him. He smiled at me and picked up my coat from the ground.

"No harm done. Probably just broke a few ribs is all." I laughed and smacked his shoulder.

"I certainly didn't hurt your ego, I see." I joked while rolling my eyes. I saw a girl saunter down the stairs. She was a light chocolate color with straight black hair, and wearing a cream colored sweater.

"Georgie, ready to go?" She asked while he grabbed her hand and kissed her cheek.

"Yes, dear, lets go." He led her over to the window and I turned to Harry.

"You guys going out?" Harry asked.

"Yupp, I'm a substitute." I smiled at Harry and stepped to Fred's side, who put his arm around me and kissed the top of my head, which just cleared his shoulder.

"Oh. Well. . .have a nice night." Harry dissappeard up the stairs, and I turned to look at Fred.

"Bit cold, don't you think?" I asked, borrowing Chassidy's words from earlier today.

"He is probably jealous I got the best substitute girlfriend in the entire school." I laughed and grabbed his hand lightly, pulling it around my waist.

"Yeah, for one night. Now come one, where'd _Georgie _and Angelina go?" He lead me over to an open window, where Angelina and George had just been. I looked in the sky to see two figures on a broomstick streak across the stars.

I looked down on the roof to see a second broomstick hovering about a foot off the ground- err, roof. I climbed on top of the windowpayne and slipped through, pulling my jacket over my shoulders. I climbed onto it easily, waiting for Fred.

"Come on Weasley! Scared?" I taunted while he climbed on.

"Of your flying? Yes!" He joked. I "accidentally" elbowed him in the stomach while lifting off the ground.

"Champion Chaser. Remember?" He laughed into my ear, and I did a sharp turn before leaning into the turn to descend above the tree tops. I felt Fred's arms tighten around my stomach and laughed at how frightened he probably was. I went at a nearly 90 degree angle upwards, finally relaxing when we were nearly fifty feet above ground. Fred reached his arms past my stomach and toward the front of the broom to tilt it towards the Quidditch Pitch, where Angelina and George were already sitting on the grass, wrapped up in each others. . err. .arms. .

I let him lead us down, even though all I really wanted to do was test how fast this thing could go. When we landed, the two disentangled themselves, a light blush across Angelina's face.

"So, Fred tells me you used to be a pretty good Chaser at your old school." Angelina commented while we layed under the stars. She was pretty much on top of George, only her legs still touching the grass, while I only had my head on top of Fred's chest, and his arm wrapped lazily around my back.

"That I was." I answered.

"How good are you?" I got up on my elbows, looking over at her.

"Can we have a quick round? Fred and George can be Keepers, and me and you can Chase." She shrugged, sitting up.

"Georgie, can you go into the locker room and get the practice quaffle and two brooms out?" He nodded and stood up, brushing off his pants before setting off towards a small building on one side of the field. We stayed sitting on the floor until _Georgie _came back, passing me and Angelina a broom, and tossing the quaffle into the air. I jumped on my broom and sped off, leaving everyone behind.

I heard Fred laughing below me while I sped towards one of the goals, stopping nearly right in front of it. "This can be George and yours goal, mine and Fred's will be down there!" I shouted down at them while pointing at the opposite side of the field. I saw Fred mount his broom and begin hurrying towards our goal, George doing the same. "GO!" I shouted when the had reached their spot. Angelina was closer to the quaffle, but I was tinier, and I wasn't scared of diving to the ground, so I reached it first. Angelina was clearly in shock of how fast I flew, because it took her a moment to continue flying. I was slowing down while heading towards Fred, checking behind my back every few seconds to watch Angelina get closer. Fred was looking at me with a quizzical look, and I just smiled at him before yanking upwards on my broom, tilting me completely upside down, and speeding over Angelina's head.

It was quiet for a moment, before I heard Fred and George let out yells of encouragement. As soon as the rush of blood in my head settled, I twisted back over, getting right side up. I dipped low as soon as I got near the goal posts, launching the ball through the air, and straight past George, into the goal. He looked at me, then back at the ball. I smiled sweetly while Angelina caught it, giving her a few seconds head start before speeding after her. I flew just above her, keeping speed with her. I saw her look nervously at me before she dipped lower, but as she was making her descent, I swerved down beside her and knocked the ball out of her hands. She looked at me shocked, again, but I just grabbed the ball and sped towards George.

He looked more ready this time, and as I approached him, I smirked at him, to intimidate him. I slowed down in front of him, dipping lower before zooming straight up, my hair trailing behind me, and I tossed the quaffle up, waiting for it to start its slow descent before grabbing it and swerving left, angling it just behind Georges head. It hit the edge of the goal post, and for a frightening moment I thought it would go the wrong way, but then it bounced up and past the edge of it, and I cheered to myself.

"Want to go again?" I asked Angelina as she hovered next to me.

She shook her head and laughed, and Fred came up next to us.

"She is bloody good!" I laughed and half bowed, nearly falling off my broom when it started to tilt. I quickly caught myself and smiled at the group, clearly finding amusement at how clumsy I was when I tried to stay in one place.

"She is like a . . a. A hawk!" George sputtered out. I blushed and laughed, shaking my head.

"Actually, my nickname was Raven. My hair used to be black before I went to this color." I laughed again, adrenaline rushing through my veins.

"Well, I want her on the team." Angelina said. I could tell she was nervous about having to make a cut, and I felt bad that I would already take someones spot, but I really wanted it.

"I'd be happy to be on it!" I offered up.

"Where'd you learn those moves?" Fred asked me while I tied my hair in a bun.

"My old team was really competitive, we used to practice every hour during holidays and after our classes were over. And Chassidy took me to the park one day and showed me what birds did. It was a really, really great idea." I looked down at my watch, it was nearly two in the morning.

"Birds? Thats a brilliant idea. . " Angelina trailed off, looking into the distance. "Well tell you what. You come to tryouts on Friday, and Alicia can sit out for a few rounds. I'll make something up. . " She trailed off again, looking at my watch. I lifted it up so she could see easier and she looked at George.

"We better get going if we don't want to be sleeping during classes tomorrow." I nodded at her suggestion, and we headed in a group towards the locker room. After locking back up, I climbed on top of Fred's broom, and he sped us toward the open commons window. After we both climbed off and into the window, we stopped where we would need to separate.

"Thanks for coming, Alanna. Your the best substitute date ever." He told me while giving me a kiss on the cheek.

"No problem, Fred. And I should be thanking you for getting me a chance to be on the team, you have no idea how much it means to me." I put one hand on one cheek, and kissed his other one quickly before pulling back. "Thank you." I whispered. He leaned back down to me and captured my lips in a kiss before I could process what was happening, and was gone in another second. I walked in a slight daze up to my room, not sure how to process what happened. Whatever it was, I didn't like it. I mean, I liked Fred, but as a brother, definitely NOT as a boyfriend.


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note: I am sooo so so sorry for not updating sooner! The power has been out for like 3 days and it just recently came back on! But, I am uploading new chapters as wew speak, although, warning, I'm losing interest in them. School is starting back up soon and I have colorguard, but I will try to keep working on them, though it won't be as often. Once again, I am sooo sorry, but thanks for your patience:)**

_I put one hand on one cheek, and kissed his other one quickly before pulling back. "Thank you." I whispered. He leaned back down to me and captured my lips in a kiss before I could process what was happening, and was gone in another second. I walked in a slight daze up to my room, not sure how to process what happened. Whatever it was, I didn't like it. I mean, I liked Fred, but as a brother, definitely NOT as a boyfriend._

"Wake up, Alanna. We have to be leaving soon." I rolled over to attempt to avoid Hermione's voice, but unsuccessfully failed by falling off the edge of the bed. I groaned as the girls around me laughed, obviously enjoying my morning performance.

"God, what time is it?" I heard Lavender suppress another laugh and threw her a death glare.

"Almost 7:00." I yawned and sat up, running my hands through my hair.

"Alright." I knew we had to be in the Great Hall by 7:30, so that our Head Professors could pass out this semesters schedule. I also knew that I had to stop by the owlery first, so I could send my letter to Millie. I didn't feel like taking a shower, so I pulled my hair into a sloppy bun before crawling over to my trunk.

From my trunk, I chose a white dress shirt and simple black skirt, and while I was searching for my black converse, I came across the letter I had received from my Father at the age of ten. I had promptly read it, but when I realized he did not apologize for leaving our family alone, I tried throwing it away. It only reappeared on my desk a few minutes later. After several methods of trying to get rid of it, I hid it in my trunk, not even thinking about it when I put my stuff for this year in it. I yanked off my pajamas and threw them into a pile on top of my bed, swatting Herm's arms away when she tried to fold them.

After I was dressed, I was a bit more awake, so I put a swipe of blue eye shadow on, to contrast my gray eyes (that I also got from my father. When he was taken into prison, and as soon as I was old enough, I tried wearing colored contacts, but eventually gave up on them, as it was too much of a hassle.). I thought about changing my hair back to its original color, a pure black, that I had gotten from my father, but decided to wait, since I would want to talk about it with Chassidy first.

I walked to my bed to grab my bag and robes, pulling my converse on on the way over. "Ready to go?" I hear Hermione ask while I slipped the robe over my shoulder.

"Hermi, I'm going to stop by the owlery first, do you want to come with or just meet at the table?" She looked down at the book in her hands before looking back up at me.

"I think I'll meet you at the table. But I'll see you soon." I smiled and waved bye to her, grabbing the letter off my desk on the way out. As soon as I was out of the commons, I began sprinting towards the owlery, wanting to be there and back as fast as I could.

Once in the owlery, I called Galileo to me, and he landed obediently on my outstretched arm.

"Hey Galileo, are you ready? I need you to take this to Millie in America. I know its a long trip, but I know you can do it. You'll be there and back before you know it. And, you know Millie always has a spare dead rat, she'll be sure to give you one as soon as you land." I distracted him while tying the letter on his feet. As soon as the knot was secure, I thrust my arm upwards, and Galileo began flying towards one of the windows.

On my way to the Great Hall, I spotted Angelina walking with another girl.

I ran to catch up, my bag slipping on my shoulders several times.

"Hey!" I called to her when I was right behind her. She and her friend slowed down as I approached, leaving me to walk in between them.

"Hey! Alanna, this is Katie, Katie-Alanna." Angelina introduced us.

"Hi, nice to meet you!" Katie told me while shaking my hand.

"Nice to meet you too!" I told her while smiling.

"So your the good Chaser?" I nodded at Katie, admiring her sleek black hair. "Yeah, I can see the potential in you. And birds? Thats bloody brilliant!" I smiled and nodded, looking down as we entered the Great Hall.

"Thanks. I assume you are the other Chaser?" She nodded at me. "Well I'm sure it would be a pleasure to be on the same team as you!" I told her as we reached the table.

"Yes, well Alicia has been slacking off lately, and I'm sure your a very good Chaser, judging from what Angelina has told me." I blushed and looked down. She waved a bye to me as she sat down, and I waved back, walking with Angelina towards Harry and them.

"You really would be awesome on the team. I think we could use your input on the team." I smiled up at her as we reached the group. I sat down beside Harry and across from Hermione, Ron sitting in front of Harry.

"Hi, Angelina." They chorused.

"Hi," she replied briskly. "Good Summer?" She didn't wait for an answer before continuing. "Listen, I've been made Gryffindor Quidditch Captain."

"Nice one." Harry commented while I began putting fruit and toast on my plate.

"Yeah, well, we need a new Keeper now that Oliver's left. Tryouts are Friday at five o'clock, and I want the whole team there, all right? Then we can see how the new person, or people," She glanced at me, "will fit in."

"Okay." Harry said simply. She smiled at him before turning to me.

"And you. Do you have a broom?"

I shook my head no. "But I can get my sisters."

"Good, I expect you to be there." She smiled before waving goodbye and leaving towards Katie. I turned to push a grape into my mouth, seeing everyone staring at me.

"Your going for keeper?" Harry asked.

"Hell no! She thinks I'd make a good Chaser, so she's going to make Alicia sit out for a few rounds, and I'll play in her place." They exchanged pleased looks with each other.

"Are you any good?" Herm asked.

"Uhh. . .I don't want to answer that. I can't compare myself to people."

"Well if Angelina thinks you'd make a good Chaser, you have to be pretty damn good." He hit my back lightly, and I wanted to laugh when he said "damn". It just sounded so British and weird! Like "dahm". _dahm dahm dahm dahm! _I cracked up on the inside of my head, retaining a straight face on the outside while I was giggling like a little girl the inside.

"I suppose it would be very different with two new people on the team?" Hermione asked while pulling the plate of toast towards herself.

"I s'pose. They were both good players."

"Still, it won't hurt to have new blood, will it?" Ron asked.

All of a sudden, so sudden that I jumped in my seat, hundreds of owls came soaring in from the upper windows. They dispersed throughout the Great Hall quickly, bringing letters and packages to their owners while showering everyone with rain drops. I wasn't expecting anything, I had just sent Galileo out with a letter to Millie. But I was BEYOND shocked when a plain envelope dropped in front of me. I glanced up automatically to see which owl it had come from, to see if it had been Millie sending me a letter first, or some other friend. But my attempt was lost when the crowd of owls surged back together, preventing me from finding out.

I heard a thump and looked across from me to see Hermione paying an owl before it leapt back up into the air.

"What are you still getting that for?" Harry asked irritably. "I'm not bothering. . .Load of rubbish."

"It's best to know what the enemy are saying." Hermione replied while I flipped the envelope over. My name was printed sloppily on the front, not including my last name. Just _Alanna Samora. _I flipped it back over and broke the seal, sliding out a thick piece of parchment, torn on one side, like it had been too long to fit in the envelope. There were only three words on it, and I shivered when I read them.

_I've found you._

There was no signature on it, no indication of who it came from.

I felt Harry looking over my shoulder, but I ignored it, my hands were shaking bad without even allowing the thoughts to be voiced in my head. I pushed the parchment back into the envelope and slid it into my bag.

Our table was silent until Professor McGonagall came around with our schedules.

"Look at today!" Ron groaned while I scanned over the list. "History of Magic, double potions, Divination, and double Defense Against the Dark Arts. . .Binns, Snape, Trelawney, and that Umbridge woman all in one day! I wish Fred and George'd hurry and get those Skiving Snackboxes sorted." I cringed when I thought of Umbridge, _I hope she doesn't recognize me. ._

"Do mine ears deceive me?" Fred asked while sliding on the bench next to me. I saw George slide in next to Harry. "Hogwarts Prefects surely don't wish to skive off lessons?"

"Look what we've got today," Ron said grumpily. "Thats the worst Monday I've ever seen."

"Fair point, little bro." Fred confirmed while scanning the column of classes. "You can have a bit of Nosebleed Nougat cheap if you like."

"Why's it cheap?" Ron asked suspiciously.

"Because you'll keep bleeding till you shrivel up. We haven't got an antidote yet." George said while helping himself to a kipper. I choked out a laugh, that sounded so much like Chassidy.

"Cheers." Ron muttered sarcastically. "But I think I'll take the lessons."

"And speaking of your Skiving Snackboxes," Hermione began, staring Fred and George down. "You cant advertise for testers on the Gryffindor notice board."

"Says who?" George looked at her with astonishment.

"Says me." Hermione tilted her head at Ron. "And Ron."

"Leave me out of it!" Ron said quickly.

I laughed and nudged Harry with my shoulder, who had been quiet ever since Fred and George sat down. He glanced up at me quickly before looking back down at his plate. I nudged him harder and furrowed my brows. He shook his head no and I sighed, exasperated. It took me a few seconds to get my nerve up, but then I grabbed his forearm and stood up, yanking him to his feet. I stepped over the bench and he copied, following me out of the Great Hall.

As soon as we made it past the late stragglers, I turned to face him. He nearly ran into me before taking a step back, and I crossed my arms at him.

"So whats your problem?" I asked.

"I don't have a problem." He answered while crossing his arms and leaning against a wall.

"Liar." I shoved his shoulders up against the wall. "Why were you being so cold? As soon as Fred and George sat down, you started being a bitch."

"I wasn't." I felt my temper rising and shoved him against the wall, harder this time. His hands snapped up to mine , pulling them off his shoulders gently. I took a deep breath and dropped them, realizing what I had just done.

"Sorry. Got my temper from my dad. Or, that's what my mom said, before she was-" I turned and bit my lip, barely catching myself.

"She was what?"

I took a moment to pick my words carefully. "Nothing. Hey-" I turned to look at him carefully. "Why does everyone always look at you? What did you do?"

His mouth opened and closed for a few minutes.

"Y-you don't know?" I shook my head. "I-I. . . Uh. Maybe we should talk about it tonight.. It's kind of. . my life story." I tilted my head at him, but shrugged anyways. "But. You have to answer some questions for me."

"Shoot." He coked his head at me. "Sorry, it's an American word for ask away."

"Well, about you and Fred." He rubbed the back of his head, and I smiled at how cute he looked. "Are you. . .you know. . snogging him." The last part was barely a whisper, but I caught it.

My first reaction was wanting to laugh, but then my temper kicked in. _Why was it any of his business? It didn't matter. _"Why is it any of your business? I mean, does it make any difference if I was or not? Theres nothing you could do to change it." I turned sharply and began walking briskly back towards the Great Hall. "And by the way- I'm not." I heard Harry's footsteps behind me, and almost as soon as we reached the table, Fred and George stood up, muttering something about Extendable Ears.

"You know, I've been wondering about that," Ron said, his brow furrowed. "They bought me a new set of dress robes this summer, and I couldn't understand where they got the galleons. . ." I sat down back in front of Hermi, and began stabbing grapes with my fork.

"D'you reckon it's true this year's going to be really tough? Because of the exams?" Harry asked while taking my hand off the fork.

"Oh yeah." Ron said. " Bound to be, isn't it? O.W.L.s are really important, affect the jobs you can apply for and everything. We get career advice too, later this year, Bill told me. So you can choose what N.E.W.T.s you want to do next year."

"D'you know what you want to do after Hogwarts?" Harry asked as we were leaving the Great Hall and heading towards the History of Magic classroom.

"Not really," Ron said slowly. "Except. . .Well. . " I glanced at his face and he looked at me with a slight blush.

"What?" Harry urged him on.

"Well, it'd be cool to be an Auror." Ron replied, looking at the floor apprehensively.

"Yeah, it would." Harry said quickly.

"But they're like, the elite." Ron said. "You've got to be really good. What about you guys?" He looked at me, and I looked down at the floor, twirling my hair in one hand.

"I've always thought it would be fun to be an owl trainer. But it's not something I'm . . completely committed too. What about you, Hermi?" I asked quickly to shift the attention off me.

"I don't know, I think I'd really like to do something worthwhile."

"An Auror's worthwhile!" Harry laughed.

"Yes, it is, but it's not the only worthwhile thing." She said thoughtfully. "I mean, if I could really take S.P.E.W. further. . ." I cocked my head at her and looked at Ron and Harry, but both were looking opposite ways. "It's something I'm doing for the poor house elfs. I'll finish telling you later." She told me as we entered the classroom.

Professor Binns reminded me of one of my old teachers, Mrs Kirkland. She droned on and on in a monotone voice, and the only reason I maintained an A in that class was by sharing notes with Chassidy and Millie. And our late night study sessions in our dorm right before a test.

This class, he was talking about Giant Wars, which we had covered last year. Nevertheless, I mindlessly jotted down notes, mostly thinking about the letter that I had gotten this morning.

Even so, I was filled with relief when the bell for break rang.

"How would it be, Hermione began. "If I refused to lend you my notes this year?"

"Well, we would probably borrow the notes from Alanna, seeing as how she seems to be able to retain conciousness during his class." Ron announced while I linked my arm with Hermi's.

"Maybe I won't let you see my notes!" I laughed and got in step with Hermione.

"Then we'd fail our O.W.L.s." Ron told us, completely serious. Hermione snapped her head back to look at them while I steered us towards the courtyard. "If you want that on your conscience, Hermione."

"Well, you'd deserve it," she snapped. "You don't even try to listen to him, do you?"

"We do try," Ron insisted. "We just haven't got your brains or your memory or your concentration- your just cleverer than we are. Is it nice to rub it in?"

"Oh, don't give me that rubbish." Hermione said, but I could feel the slight bounce in her step, and see the smile on her face.

As we reached the courtyard, I felt like the letter was burning a hole in my bag. I wanted to run up to my room and compare the writing from the letter I got this morning to the letter I got ten years ago. _But then what? Do I tell Dumbledore? What would he do? I don't even know my own father's name._

_ All I had was the MEMORY of the picture. And what about Chassidy? Should I tell her about it? Did she get one too? What if its all a prank, and I'm just overreacting?_

I took a deep breath and rubbed my arms, trying to focus on what everyone was saying.

"It's going to be something difficult, thats for sure."

"Judging by the way you guys talk about him, he sounds like a true-" I glanced up from our group to see Cho strutting over. "Bitch." I ended a few seconds later.

"Hello, Harry!" She smiled at him and made a grimace at me. I shot my tongue out at her, and felt Hermione smack my arm.

"Hi." I rolled my eyes at his lame response and turned to face the courtyard.

"You got that stuff off, then?"

"Yeah, so did you. . er. . have a good summer?" There was a second before she answered. "Oh, it was all right, you know."

"Is that a Tornados badge?" I heard Ron ask her in an accusatory tone. "You don't support them, do you?" I bit my lap to keep from laughing. All of a sudden, the snap on my bag broke, and my stuff (me being an idiot and leaving the top unzipped) fell all over the damp floor.

"Shit." I muttered loudly. I dropped to my knees and looked through the mess for my wand, finally grabbing it inside the bag. "Reparo." I whispered, and the strap automatically melded itself back to the bag. I saw Harry bend down to help me, and I only felt slightly sorry for taking him away from Cho, but then her glare made me smirk and begin gathering my stuff back up. Harry grabbed a few of my books and passed them to me, and I stuffed them into my bag. There were a few minutes of silence between us while we gathered my things up and tried to dry them off on our robes before shoving them in my bag. "Thanks." I whispered while Cho strode away.

"No problem." He told me while bending down to grab something. I saw him hold it for a few seconds before bending back up, and I realized it was the letter. My eyes widened, and I went into panic mode. I snagged it from him and stuffed it in my bag, deep down so it wouldnt fall out on accident. The bell rang and Harry told Hermione and Ron, who were deep in some argument . We began walking towards potions side by side, but not talking.

_He knows something. _I realized as we reached the classroom. _He knows something and hes not telling me._


	5. Chapter 5

**(A/N: I know this is so overdue, like all my other stories, and I promise I am working on making a regular schedule! I have this awesome idea for an Ouran Host Club story, about a girl named Maylee Aria. She's dug a hole in my brain and refuses to come out untill I make her a home. I don't know if people reading this story would read it, but I promise it's going to be awesome! I swear I tab these things, but they end up just double spacing. Anyways! Review please? Even if its just telling I miss spelled something, it brightens my day when I check my ff account and see a new review! I'll leave you alone now, and let you continue reading. . . -_- ENJOYY!)**_  
><em>

_He knows something. _I realized as we reached the classroom. _He knows something and hes not telling me._

Harry was sitting next to me, stirring his potion carefully. Mine was already complete, and I was resting with my feet on the table while Snape walked around the classroom, finally stopping at Harry's with a freakin' smirk on his face.

"Potter, what is this supposed to be?" He asked. I saw all the Slytherins look over at us expectantly, and I looked each of them in the eye while twirling my hair around a finger.

"The Draught of Peace." Harry replied tensely.

"Tell me, Potter. Can you read?" I heard Malfoy laugh, and I glared up at him. Chassidy was standing next to him, supressing a giggle.

"Yes, I can." I saw Harry's fingers clench around his wand.

"Read the third line of the instructions for me, Potter." I saw Harry squint at the black board through all the multi-colored fog pouring out of cauldrons.

"'Add powdered moonstone, stir three times counterclockwise, allow to simmer for seven minutes, then add two drops of syrup of Hellebore."

"Did you do everything on the third line, Potter?"

"No." Harry said quietly.

"I beg your pardon?"

"No, I forgot to add the Hellebore. . . "

"I know you did, Potter. Which means that this mess is utterly worthless. Evanesco." The contents of Harry's cauldron disappeared, and he was left standing in front of an empty cauldron.

"Hey!" I shouted, standing up. The instant I said it I regretted it, for he turned to look at me with his beady eyes.

"Yes, Miss. . "

"Alanna Atwood, sir." I said sarcastically while crossing my arms. Behind Snape, both Harry and Ron were shaking heir head.

"Atwood. Yes, the transfer. Is there anything you'd like to say?" He stared down at me, and I wanted to shiver but forced myself to stand stronger.

"Yes, I do. Why is it that you only confront Harry, where as-" I looked at other peoples cauldrons around the room, specifically on the Slytherin side, before pointing across the room at some fat kids cauldron. "HIS is ten times worse?"

The professor didn't flinch, instead looking me straight in my eyes, with a grim look on his face. "I don't appreciate snitches, Atwood. Perhaps going around the room and criticizing everyones work would make you feel better?" I glared right back at him, the class growing silent.

"Perhaps you should be a better teacher and not criticize the students you don't like. Go ahead, what's wrong with my potion?" I waved towards mine, which was emitting a light silver vapor, which was, as he had said, what should happen.

He stepped closer to it and bent down, sniffing it. "Find anything?" I bent down to his level and smirked at him.

"Ten points from Gryffindor." He yelled over the classroom.

"What? I didn't do anything!" I shouted back at him.

"Want to make it twenty?" He asked while heading back to the front. I clenched my hands into fists and sat down roughly, my chair scraping across the floor. It was a few quiet moments while Snape walked back to his desk. "Those of you who have managed to read the instructions, fill one flagon with a sample of your potion, label it clearly with your name, and bring it to my desk for testing. Homework: twelve inches of parchment on the properties of moonstone and its uses in potion-making, to be handed in on Thursday. Atwood, yours is fifteen inches." I smacked my hands on my desk and leaned forward, glaring at him. After a few seconds of breathing, I filled a flagon with my sample and carefully timed my walking so I would be at the desk at the same time as Chassidy.

"Lani! Hey!" She said while setting her flagon on the table. "That was. . quite a temper. You know better than to do stuff like that." I rolled my eyes and dragged her to a nearby table, faking a smile.

"Yes well, it's been stressfull. But, I'm trying out for Quidditch on Friday. I need to borrow your broom." She smiled and nodded, her perkiness annoying me, but keeping the smile plastered on my face. She turned to leave, but I grabbed her elbow and pulled her back."Have you gotten any. . .weird letters today?" She looked at me weirdly before shaking her head.

"Why? Did you?"

"Uh. I'm not sure. Look, this isn't the place to talk. How about tomorrow night, and you can bring the broom?"

"Okay. . .Seven next to the lake?"

"Yeah, I'll see you there." She gave me a quick hug and I watched as her friends looked at me with disgust. I glared back at them, before Hermione grabbed my shoulder.

"Come on, Harry's already headed towards the Great Hall." I nodded and followed her, grabbing my bag on the way out.

"Okay, Alanna, that was bloody brilliant what you did back there." I smiled nervously at Ron.

"Thanks. . But I feel bad for getting the points taken away." He laughed and slapped my back, causing me to grimace at the slight stinging sensation.

"Please, it was so worth it to see Snape's surprise when he looked at you." I looked at the ground as some other kid congratulated me for standing up to Snape.

"So do you hate Snape now?" Ron asked as we made our way through the hallway.

"Well, on a scale of 1 to 10, I'd have to say a solid 347. He's a really biased teacher." Hermione nodded her agreement beside me, linking our arms.

It was quiet for a moment, and I relished the silence for a few moments. Should I tell Chassidy about the letter? Or should I just keep it to myself? I mean, if she hasn't gotten any, why should I worry her? It could just be some stupid Slytherin making jokes. Maybe I'm just going crazy-

"Hey! Watch it!" I snapped my head up just in time to see Ron run into a girl with straight auburn hair to the middle of her back and pale skin. The girl fell backwards, her books and papers scattering everywhere. "Great." She muttered while getting on her hands and knees. Ron was standing above her, staring at her with his eyes and mouth wide open. I nudged him with my elbow, and he broke out of his trance to look at me.

"Help. Her." I mouthed. He nodded obediently and dropped to his knees, gathering some papers in shaky hands.

"S-sorry about that. I wasn't paying any attention." He stuttered out.

"That's alright, I do it sometimes too." She sat back on her heels. "Wow Ron, I don't think I've seen you around lately." She turned up to face me, and stuck her hand out. I couldn't help but notice her icy blue eyes that stuck out from her bright auburn hair.

"I'm Scarlet. Scarlet Sherio." I shook it, and then she turned to grab a few more papers.

"Alanna." I heard someone congratulate me about Snape, and turned to thank them, and then I noticed a figure standing off to the side. "Oh, hey Luna!"

Luna smiled wearily at me, and Hermione acknowledged the both of them.

"Hey Scarlet, Luna." They both waved at her, and I bent down to help Scarlet to her feet while Ron gathered the last of her folders and her wand.

"You guys know each other?" I asked while brushing a piece of dust off Scarlet's shoulder.

"Yeah, she transferred here last year from France. She's in Ravenclaw with Luna." Hermione answered.

"Really? I've always wanted to go there. Is it nice?"

"Very. Especially during Summer. Hey. . .Your. . .Chassidy's twin, right?" I nodded.

"She's in my History of Magic class. Her and Draco," She scowled at the name, and I brightened my smile by about 20 notches. "Seem really cozy."

I groaned and nodded, instantly liking this girl. "Tell me about it." I grinned mischieviously at her. "Say. . Do you happen to like Cho Chang?"

"I think the world could live without her." I laughed and smiled, before pointing a finger at her.

"I like you. You have spunk." She grinned and laughed, brushing her hair behind her shoulder.

"Why, thank you. I barely even notice anymore." I laughed and linked arms with her, gesturing Luna and Ron to come on.

"Did you hear what Alanna did? It was bloody brilliant!" Ron took the spot next to Scarlet, handing her the folders and papers he had picked up.

While they began talking, I began twirling my hair, watching for Cho or Chassidy.

"Your potion seemed well. Do you enjoy the subject?" Hermione asked while we entered the Hall.

"I used to." I muttered as Scarlet pulled away with Luna. "I'll see you soon!" I called out to her. She nodded and waved, linking arms with Luna. "She seems nice." I told Hermione.

"She is. She pranked Snape last year, and lost thirty points from Ravenclaw, but it was the best thing that ever could have happened." I laughed as we made it to the table, instantly sobering up as Harry glared at his plate. "That was really unfair." Hermione told Harry while sitting in front of me and loading her plate up with sheperds pie.

"Yeah, it wasn't nearly as bad as Goyles. When he put it in the flagon, the whole thing shattered and caught his robes on fire." I supplied while taking a sip of water.

"Yeah, well, since when has Snape ever been fair to me?" Harry asked while glaring at his foods. "But thanks for standing up for me, Lana." He smiled at me and I smiled back before shoving some Sheperds pie in my mouth.

"I did think he might be a bit better this year." Hermione told him in a hushed voice. "I mean. . you know. . ." She glanced around while I ducked under the table for a piece of parchment and quill; I had forgotten to write down the assignment. "Now that he's in the Order and everything."

"Poisonous toadstools don't change their spots." Ron said wisely. "Anyway, I've always thought Dumbledore was cracked trusting Snape, where's the evidence he ever really stopped-" (aha! paper!) "-working for You-Know-Who?" My head snapped up so fast I hit my head on the table. I rubbed my head while sitting up fully.

"Snape worked for Voldemort?" Hermione and Ron cringed when I said the name, but I had to know. I mean, I knew who he was. I was only partially clueless. They looked at each other with what-do-we-do looks plastered on their faces. "And what's 'The Order'? A secret club?" They looked at me with their mouths hung open. I guess they have some secrets, too. "Look, if we really want to be friends-" I let out a deep breath. This could make-or just as easily break- our friendship. "Then we need to get everything into the open. But untill then, you can. . ." There were no words to describe how I felt. Instead of finishing my sentence, I yanked my bag from the floor, the letter slipping out and landing on the table. I yanked it up and practically ran out of the Great Hall, not even stopping untill I was in the commons.

I sprinted up the stairs to the girl's dorms and into my room, throwing my bag on the floor, the letter still gripped tightly in my hand. I yanked my robe off and flung it on my bed, since it was hindering my process and I still had about 50 minutes until Ancient Runes started.

I got on my knees in front of my trunk and lifted the top, expecting to see it on top. But it wasn't. I dug through the trunk, shoving aside my pajamas and shoes, looking for that one worn and yellowed envelope. But it wasn't there. I pulled everything out and set it on the floor one by one, so I couldn't miss it. It. Wasn't. There. I let out an angry groan and jumped onto my bed, finally seeing a corner sticking out from under my pajamas that had been heaped on my bed. I glanced at my watch and saw that I only had about five minutes before the bell rang. I stood back up and went to my bag for my wand, and after muttering "reparo", the mess I had made began cleaning itself up, folding clothes and inserting them cleanly into the trunk. I slipped my robe back on my shoulders and grabbed my bag, sliding both the letters into it before leaving the dorm.

When I got into Ancient Runes, I sat next to Hermione without a word. She glanced up and smiled at me before looking back at the board. I smiled before doing the same.


End file.
